Meet Holly and Haylie.
Holly & Haylie recently went ALL-IN on a garage gym, transforming their 2-car garage into a CrossFit wonderland. There’s some serious investment in this space, with some top-notch gear throughout. Their story is really awesome and quite powerful.
Join me as we step into Holly and Haylie’s amazing garage gym.
The Journey
Let’s start with Holly, a nurse who has changed her life with the help of her partner, Haylie. Holly, dating back to high school was always athletic, but she was also considerably bigger than most girls her age. As a college student, juggling nursing school and working full time as a waitress took a toll on her, physically. She developed eating habits that eventually led to her gaining weight – up to 300 lbs.
Her quality of life was suffering, and by her own admission, she was living and breathing hypocrisy. She was a nurse, after all. Her job was to care for people and to educate them on how to take care of themselves. She was left wondering how she could, in good conscience, continue to instruct people on how to choose a healthier lifestyle, when she herself needed learning on the very subject.
She met Haylie shortly after, about four years ago to this day. She (Holly) happened to be at her heaviest and, Haylie, on the other hand, was tall, skinny, athletic, and “COMPLETELY out of my league.” How she convinced “the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen” to give her a shot she still isn’t sure. But hey, something worked!
Haylie began helping Holly on her journey to lose weight. She helped with the diet, helped with the meal prep, and helped with the workout programming. After all, Haylie was a former cheerleader turned CrossFit trainer. She obtained her CF-L1, her CrossFit gymnastics certification, and just about every other CrossFit certification out there. On top of that, Haylie has a Bachelor’s degree in Health & Exercise Science, she’s about to finish up her Master’s in Exercise Physiology, and she has began her enrollment into Baylor University’s Doctoral program.
She knows stuff, OK?!
She knows a lot of stuff actually, and she was Holly’s “saving grace.”
Thanks to Haylie, Holly has lost an impressive 128 pounds. She’s living a leaner, stronger, healthier, and happier life than she ever has.
With their combined passion for training and CrossFit, Holly and Haylie realized they needed more than just the daily one-hour CrossFit class. Further, with both of them in college with full-time jobs, time became less available.
Sound familiar? I’ve got to think that time is one of the biggest reasons people start home gyms.
Together, they discussed for months the perks of having a garage gym. Like many of us have done, myself DEFINITELY included, Holly began obsessing over the possibilities. She visited just about every fitness website on the interwebs. She made dozens of fantasy shopping carts with various items in each.
One day, after a stressful couple of weeks, they decided it was time to set their dreams in motion. They were done paying a monthly membership to a gym that they couldn’t access 24/7.
They wanted to live their life on their own terms. So, that night they sat down and they made a list of the MUST-HAVES… and then they bought everything their hearts desired.
The Equipment
Thankfully for this couple, they had the space, resources, and the will to create their ultimate garage gym. They knew they would get a TON of use out of it, so they didn’t hold back.
Unlike some of the other features I’ve done here at Garage Gym Lab, where equipment was slowly acquired over time, Holly and Haylie went HARD IN THE PAINT.
Yep, they swung for the fences, acquiring everything new in one fell swoop.
They don’t have anything against used equipment mind you – they just felt that if they were already going to put a dent in the bank account, they “might as well make it a worthy dent.” Buy once, cry once, she says.
Mostly everything was acquired from Rogue, but some also came from GetRX’d, Amazon, and Titan.
When I asked what her favorite piece of equipment was, she answered that she loves their Concept 2 Skierg and their Rogue Rigs.
Let’s have a look piece by piece.
Strength Gear
I love the fact that Holly and Haylie each have their own rack and bar. It makes for a very efficient use of time, and it’s just badass all around!
- 2 Rogue RML-3W Fold-Back Wall Mount Racks (40″ depth)
- 2 Bella Bars
- Rogue Bumper Plates
- GetRX’d Glute Ham Raise
- 5-50lb pairs of Dumbbells from GetRX’d
- Kettlebell Pairs (26 lb, 35 lb, 53 lb, & 70 lb)
Conditioning Gear
If you’re into conditioning, Holly and Haylie have you covered! I mean, dayum. These are some nice pieces.
- Concept 2 Rower
- Concept 2 Skierg
- Rogue Echo Bike
- Rogue 20 lb and 14 lb Wall Balls
- Rogue 30 lb Slam Ball
- 20 lb Weight Vest
- 2 Lazymoon 20/24/30″ Plyo Boxes
- Rogue Gymnastics Rings
- Rogue 15ft Rope
- RPM Jump Rope
- Rogue Jump Rope
Miscellaneous
- Rogue Parallel Bars
- Titan Fitness Weight Tree
- 15 Stall Mats from Tractor Supply
- Rogue Abmat
- Foam Rollers/Lacrosse Balls
- Exogear Bluetooth Speaker
- Chalk/Chalk Bucket
- Mobility Bands
- Whiteboard
- GymNext Clock/Timer
- 2 Stanley Squirrel Cage Fans
- GetRX’d A-Hanger
I am really impressed with this gym, and I particularly love the story behind it. Their love for each other and their love for fitness is evident, and I’m very thankful that they shared this with the community.
You can follow and stay in touch with Holly and Haylie on Instagram here and here
If you would like the chance to be featured on the site, shoot me an email at Adam@garagegymlab.com.
Last week’s feature: Catie’s Garage Gym Paradise
The bar is loaded,
Adam